Movie bosses respond to Ender’s Game boycott

Studio executives behind Harrison Ford’s new sci-fi adventure Ender’s Game have promised to hold a special screening of the film in aid of gay rights charities following heavy criticism of the story’s controversial author. Activists from Geeks OUT have launched an online campaign asking moviegoers to boycott the film as part of a protest against the man who wrote the original book, Orson Scott Card, an outspoken opponent of gay marriage.
Officials at Lionsgate have now spoken out about the campaign, insisting the movie has nothing to do with Card’s personal beliefs, and promising to host a charity premiere to raise money for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organisations.
A statement from the studio reads, “As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from Gods and Monsters to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and a company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card…
“However, they are completely irrelevant to a discussion of Ender’s Game. The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form… Lionsgate will continue its longstanding commitment to the LGBT community by exploring new ways we can support LGBT causes and, as part of this ongoing process, will host a benefit premiere for Ender’s Game.”
Card says of the boycott, “Ender’s Game is set more than a century in the future and has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984.”
Ender’s Game, which also stars Sir Ben Kingsley and Abigail Breslin, is due to hit cinemas in November (13).